The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 - March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names The Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls or just Biggie, was an American rapper. Wallace rose to fame in 1994 with the release of his debut album Ready to Die, which made him a central figure to East Coat hip hop. While recording his second album, he was involved in the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry in 1996. On March 9, 1997, Wallace was murdered by an unknown assailant in a drive-by-shooting in Los Angeles, California. 16 days later on March 25, 1997, his double-disc album Life After Death was released and rose to number one on the US album charts. Since Wallace's death, three more albums have been released. Early Life Christopher George Latore Wallace was born on May 21, 1972 in St. Mary's Hospital in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York where he was raised. His father, Selwyn George Latore, left the family when he was two years old and his mother, Voletta Wallace, while raising him, worked two jobs. By age 10, Wallace was nicknamed "Big" due to his overweight size and by age 12, he started dealing drugs, but his mother did not know his drug dealing until he grew up. When he was 17, he dropped out of George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education, also located in Brooklyn. Future rappers Jay-Z, DMX, and Busta Rhymes were also attending. In 1989 in Brooklyn, ge was arrested on weapons charges and sentenced to five years' probation. The following year, he was arrested for violating that probation. In 1991, Wallace was arrested for dealing crack cocaine in North Carolina and before making bail, he spent nine months in jail. Career 1991-1994 Wallace began recording his own demos in his basement, under the name Biggie Smalls, after being released from prison. One of them was called "Microphone Murder", which was promoted by Mister Cee, a New York-based DJ who previously, had worked with Big Daddy Kane. He teamed up with a hip hop collective known as Old Gold Brothers. The editor of The Source heard about the tape in 1992. Sean Combs (also known as Puff Daddy or P. Diddy) heard about Biggie while working for Uptown Records, so he got him to sign with Uptown. Biggie made an appearance on the song "A Buncha Niggas" by label mates Heavy D & Boys. However, Combs would have his own falling out with the label, so he started a new one called Bad Boy Records. Biggie soon discovered that there was another rapper nicknamed "Biggie Smalls", so he decided to call him The Notorious B.I.G. He appeared on a remixes of the songs "Real Love" and "What's the 411?" by Mary J. Blige. Biggie also had his own debut solo with the single "Pary and Bullshit" from the soundtrack of the 1993 thriller comedy film Who's the Man?. His longtime girlfriend gave birth to his first child T'yanna. 1994-1995 When he was 21, Biggie got to work on his own debut album Ready to Die, which was mainly recorded at the New York city recording studio "The Hit Factory". He married R&B and soul singer Faith Evans on August 4, 1994 after they met at a Bad Boy photoshoot. Biggie released Ready to Die on September 13, 1994, which features the singles "Juicy", "Big Poppa", "Warning" and "One More Chance". The album told the story of his life from drug dealer to rapper. It climbed to number 3 on the R&B album charts, number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart as well being certified platinum four times. The Source called The Notorious B.I.G. "The Best New Artist", "The Best Live Performer" and "The Best Lyricst of the Year". Biggie befriended fellow rapper Tupac Shakur or just 2Pac and basketball player Shaquille O'Neill. His group Junior M.A.F.I.A (which consists of his childhood friends and rappers who went on to have their own careers like Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease). released their debut album Conspiracy on August 29, 1995 and featured the singles "Player's Anthem", "I Need You Tonight", "Get Money", "Get Money". Biggie became involved with the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry with his now former friend 2Pac. In September 1995, Biggie started to record his second album over 18 months in New York City, Trinidad, and Los Angles. Biggie made an appearance on the track "This Time Around" from legendary singer Michael Jackson's 1996 record HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. 1996-1997 On March 23, 1996, because he was chasing and threatning to kill two fans seeking autographs outside a Manhattan nightclub, The Notorious B.I.G. was arrested. He smashed the windows of their taxicab, punched one of them and pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service. In mid-1996, because of drug and weapons possession charges, he was arrested at his home in Teaneck, New Jersey. 2Pac released the diss track called "Hit 'Em Up", which was aimed at Biggie and Bad Boy Records. In the song, Pac claims to have had sexual intercourse with Faith Evans. On September 13, 1996 Pac was killed after being shot four times in a drive-by-shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. Biggie was accused of murdering him. Biggie's wife Evans gave birth to his second child, this time a boy named Christopher "C.J." Wallace Jr. Biggie along with Junior M.A.F.I.A member Lil' Cease were arrested for smoking cannabis in public and had their car repossessed during the recording of Life After Death, Biggie's second album. Despite Cease's objections, Biggie chose a Chevrolet Lumina rental car as a substitute. Death On March 9, 1997, at 12:30 a.m. The Notorious B.I.G., after exeting the Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles on March 8 that same year, he left his entourage in two black Chevrolet Tahoes and the two vehicles were trailed by a Chevrolet S-10 Blazer carrying Paul Offord, Bad Boy's director of security. Then, the driver of a black Chevy Impala opened fire and four bullets killed the rapper. 16 days after Biggie sadly passed away, his second album Life After Death was released and was not only both a critical and commercial success, but it was certified Platinum 10 times. Why His Songs Rocked #His beats are fantastic. The beats of "Juicy" and "Big Poppa" are also great samples of "Juicy Fruit' by Mtume and "Between the Sheets" by The Isley Brothers respectively. #He rapped with a cool voice. #His loose, easy flow was spot on. #He made amazing songs like "Juicy", "Big Poppa" and "Hypnotise". #His music videos are also pretty good. #The semi-autobiographical lyrics of his songs are amazing. #He was a great storyteller. #He has helped influence many music artists from Jay-Z to 50 Cent. #He had some very inspirational quotes. #He collaborated with established artists like his former friend-turned rival Tupac Shakur (also known as 2Pac or Makaveli), Eminem and even Michael Jackson. #His song "Kick in the Door" is how a diss track is supposed to be done. #His delivery is great. #He did really good on features and he sometimes did better than the main artists. #His album covers are iconic and great. #He could do many different styles of music, such as rhythm and blues and new jack swing. #His live perfomances were great. Bad Qualities #His albums Born Again and Duets: The Final Chapter were met with mixed reviews from critics. Legacy The Notorious B.I.G. is widely considered to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. AllMusic described him as "the savior of East Coast hip-hop". His lyrics have been sampled and quoted by a variation of hip hop, R&B and pop artists like 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Michael Jackson, Usher and more since his death. Biggie had begun to promote the Brooklyn Mint clothing line. Biggie was portrayed by actor Jamal Wood in the 2009 biopic Notorious directed by George Tillman, Jr. The film was produced by Sean Comb, Biggie's former managers Mark Pitts and Wayne Barrow and also Violetta Wallace. Discography Studio Albums *''Ready to Die'' (1994) *''Life After Death'' (1997) *''Born Again'' (1999) *''Duets: The Final Chapter'' (2005) Compilation Albums *''Greatest Hits'' (2007) Collaboration Albums *''Conspiracy'' (with Junior M.A.F.I.A) (1995) *''The King & I'' (with Faith Evans) (2017) Sountrack Albums *''Notorious: Music from and Inspired by the Original Music Picture'' (2009) Trivia *His parents were Jamaican. *He was 6'3" (190 centimeters). *He was nicknamed "Biggie Smalls" after a character from the 1975 film Let's Do It Again. Category:1990s Category:Hip hop Category:Rhythm and blues Category:New jack swing Category:Rap rock Category:Horrorcore Category:Rappers Category:Hardcore hip hop Category:Gangsta rap Category:1970s Category:Deceased singers Category:Artists Category:1972 Births Category:Old school rap Category:Greatest Moments in Music History